Whisper
#byefelicia
Nicole Hulbig, of Tennessee, was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty after innumerable dead dogs as well as 39 live ones found in poor living conditions
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...-rescuer-home-article-1.1824415#ixzz34H78kONIPolice found 37 bags filled with dead dogs in a Tennessee home and confiscated 39 live dogs from a woman who claimed to be their "rescuer,"
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Nicole Hulbig, 29, now faces animal cruelty charges for the treatment of the living dogs but cannot be charged for the deaths of the others,
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The canines' remains were so badly decomposed that deputies could not tell how they died or get them tested, according to Sgt. Sean Ryan of the of Sumner County Sheriff's Office Animal Control Division.
Officers could not even determine how many dead dogs there were,
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"They were so far gone, you couldn't make heads or tails of it," Ryan told the Tennessee paper. "It was horrible."
Ryan said 37 of the living dogs were all inside the same barn, and many of them clearly did not have food or water in a long time. Two others,
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were in a utility room inside the house.
Hulbig says she is the founder of RRR Service Dogs and rescues dogs from kill shelters.
The dogs were found at Hulbig's 64-year-old mother's house in Cottontown. The mother was neither identified nor charged.
Montgomery County Animal Control charged Hulbig with four counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and Sumner County charged her with eight counts of animal cruelty.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/art...gs-found-home-rescuer-s-mother?nclick_check=1Hours after four dead puppies were found inside a Clarksville home Thursday, deputies in Sumner County went to a Cottontown home and found 37 bags containing animal remains and seized 39 live dogs from the woman who claimed she was running a non-profit organization that rescued dogs and trained them as service animals.
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Deputies went to the home of her mother, where Hulbig lives when not in Clarksville, after they were contacted by Montgomery County Animal Control. There, they found numerous dead animals inside the same barn as 37 living dogs who were all in poor condition.
Because the dogs in the bags were so decomposed, deputies could not tell how they died, and the remains were too degraded to send them to a lab for testing, said Sgt. Sean Ryan of the of Sumner County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Division. Officers could not even tell how many dogs there were in all.
Ryan said because there is no way to tell how or even when the dogs died, Hulbig could not be charged in connection with those remains.
But 37 dogs were living inside the same barn, many without food or water, and eight were so emaciated that Hulbig was charged with animal cruelty, Ryan said. Two others were living in a utility room inside the home.
Hulbig says she is on bed rest because of a high risk pregnancy and the care of the animals was left to her 64-year-old mother. Her mother was not charged with any crime,
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Hulbig is the founder of RRR Service Dogs and claims she rescues dogs from kill shelters and pairs them with disabled soldiers or children with disabilities after she trains them to be service dogs.
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Ryan said a few dogs have been reunited by owners or rescues who have proof of ownership, but the shelter has also received many emails with photos of animals who don’t match any of the dogs seized from the home.
'It was horrible'
It would be impossible to identify any of the dead dogs,
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“They were so far gone, you couldn’t make heads or tails of it,” he said. “It was horrible.”
Ryan said Hulbig claims the dogs died after a distemper outbreak about nine months ago, but Ryan said there was no way to know if that’s how the animals died. Officers verified that one dog had been treated at a veterinarian’s office for distemper, a viral disease which can spread quickly among dogs that aren’t vaccinated
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Tennessee does not require animal rescuers to have their dogs vaccinated for anything other than rabies,
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He said Sumner County animal control officers had been to the Cottontown home several times since 2011 after receiving complaints and Hulbig always told them she was working to get nonprofit status, he said. Each time she was keeping multiple animals in the barn, he said, but until Thursday’s visit, officers had no reason to remove dogs from her care.
She could never provide proof of nonprofit status and is now being treated “as an individual with too many dogs,” he said. Hulbig was cited for animal cruelty and will have to turn herself in to be booked before going to court, he said. She was not taken to jail because of her medical condition, he said. The main focus for the animal control officers was to get the animals out of her control.
“Basically that’s our goal, to get her out of business,” Ryan said
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But even the recently expanded shelter is struggling with the addition of 39 dogs. Ryan said the shelter usually houses about 30 dogs in all. He is hoping legitimate rescue organizations can help out by pulling dogs from the shelter after as many dogs as possible are reunited with owners.
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